Rejection Party!

To our rejections!

We did it! We reached 100 rejections on our shared Rejection Collection and had a party to celebrate! Apologies for the slightly blurry photos, but everyone was having too much fun to pose for a picture. Our next goal: 200 rejections! (We already have 120, so I think we'll be having another party before too long.)

Rejection Collection

I was just admiring our rejection collection. We started the rejection count on December 7, and we're already up to 17 rejections-- Yay, us! [Click here to read about the party we held upon reaching 100 rejections.]

Simonton's Equal-Odds Rule

Dean Simonton studies intelligence, creativity, talent and genius. He has spent a few decades trying to predict which scientists are likely to produce great work, and when in their careers they are most likely to produce it.

Cognitive Development Society (CDS) 2017

Ashley and Emily traveled to Portland this week to present at the Cognitive Development Society's biannual meeting. Ashley organized a full-day pre-conference workshop titled, "Developing Theories of Naive Sociology." Emily presented at a different pre-conference workshop, "Digital Media and Cognitive Development." And Ashley and Emily both presented posters at the main conference. Way to go!

Ashley presenting a poster titled Children See Leaders as Benevolent 

Ninja Writing in the Forest (App)

Writing is hard. It just feels so much harder than all the other things one could be doing. And yet as academics, it's the most important thing we do. In our lab, we are big believers in writing every day, but we all go through periods where that feels easy, and other periods where it feels insurmountably difficult.

Resubmission

Congratulations to Ashley for resubmitting her paper on toddler's understanding of social hierarchies! We celebrate submissions rather than acceptances. Acceptances and rejections are out of our control--they are consequences of our work, but they are not the work itself. An accepted paper means the end of the project is in sight; a rejection means the end is still off in the distance. It hardly matters: Either way, we still get up and write every day. But to finish a revision and resubmit the paper it is a real accomplishment, and a moment worth enjoying.

Writing Can Happen Anywhere

Here is my view from my 'writing desk' at my neighborhood dog park. I've been writing here in the morning recently, while my dogs play and socialize. That's Athena in the foreground and Kipper near the tree. Their friend Bean, a chocolate lab, can be seen in the distance. 

Blocking out time for daily writing in the calendar is really important. But sometimes if I plan to write at a particular time and place and it doesn't work out, I start thinking that I won't be able to write that day at all. 

I try to keep an open mind. When I do, I find that it's almost always possible to write for at least a little while every day, wherever I happen to be.